


I'm So (Not) Into You

by loverofthelight26



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Denial, Emotional, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Gay Relatoinship, Gladnis, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Potential Ignoct
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-03 10:09:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13339020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loverofthelight26/pseuds/loverofthelight26
Summary: Every relationship has it's ups and downs.Gladio tries to understand Ignis is a busy man. With being the royal advisor to Prince Noctis, Ignis has many duties to fulfill and let them get in the way of spending time with Gladio. Eventually Gladio grows tired being turned down each time he wants to spend time with Ignis through intimacy. Though Ignis sees nothing wrong, and doesn't realize how upset Gladio is getting with him until it's too late.(Tags will be added as the story is written.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic for the FFXV fandom and I praaay that this is decent for y'all. Sorry if the summary is shit. It's late, and my brain is half dead. 
> 
> I promise the title of this fic will make sense at the end of this chapter. Also, I'm sorry in advance if this ends up breaking some of your guys' hearts. I tend to be cruel to characters when I write fics. Oops! 
> 
> Anyways..... ENJOY! (Or don't.... Meh.)

For the both of them, it had been a long time since either of them had been intimate with each other. Though, Ignis thought nothing of it. He was too busy to think about being intimate with Gladio. Ignis deemed his job of high importance and the… “Smaller” things in life could wait. In all honesty, Gladio was getting quite tired of it. The rejection of intimacy stung no less than the first time.

~*~

One night, they had returned to their apartment together and Gladio had pushed Ignis up against the door as soon as it had closed, attacking him with kisses along his lips and neck. Ignis wasn’t impressed as some of the paperwork he was holding fell to the floor.

“Gladio, love—“ Ignis started, placing his hands on the swells of Gladio’s chest, gently pushing him away.

Frowning a little at being pushed away, Gladio moved away a little, hands resting on Ignis’s hips and squeezing them gently. “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong. I just have a lot of work I still need to finish up for tomorrow. Maybe another night we can… You know…” Ignis told Gladio, a blush spreading over his cheeks at the thought of being so intimate.

“Fuck…? Iggs, it isn’t that hard to say.” Gladio grinned, brushing Ignis’s blushing cheeks with the back of his fingers. He loved how flustered Ignis could get when talking about sex.

“No, it isn’t. I’m just not as crass as you are.” Bending down, he picked up the papers that had fallen from his arms. “Now, if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I need to go work on these papers.” Moving around Gladio, Ignis made his way to the home office and shut the door so he could have complete silence and concentration.

Disappointment was starting to settle in Gladio’s chest, but he understood how dedicated Ignis was to his job. As well as how important it was to the man, and how busy Ignis got if he didn’t stay up to task with his work. Gladio knew Ignis got super stressed when he fell behind. Then when Ignis was stressed, he became moody, and no one wanted to get on his bad side or face the devil. So, Gladio would let this slide, and went to the kitchen to start on supper for the two of them.

~*~

The second time that Gladio was rejected was when he dropped by Ignis’s office at the Citadel. Gladio knew Ignis was going to be home late and probably wouldn’t be able to stop and get something for supper. The large man had decided that he would stop by with a hot meal for two, and hopefully be able to have a little special something. Gladio had always wanted to bend Ignis over his desk and fuck him hard until Ignis wouldn’t be able to walk anymore.

Knocking on the door, Gladio entered the office slowly, poking his head around the door. “Hey gorgeous.” Gladio greeted, closing the door behind him. Though he frowned when Ignis gave no response. Ignis was too deep into his work to realize that Gladio had entered, or so Gladio thought. Smirking, Gladio quietly snuck around the room, trying to sneak up behind Ignis.

“Don’t you even think about it, love.” Ignis told Gladio as he kept staring at the papers in front of him.

Gladio frowned once again, after getting caught halfway around the room and walked over to Ignis’s desk, sitting down in one of the chairs that faced his desk. “Thought you didn’t hear me come in. Was gonna try and scare you.”

“Oh I heard you. It’s hard to not miss you. You are the size of a behemoth, after all.” Ignis told him, smirking as he looked up at his lover. “I’m sure you came with good reason, yes?” He asked, glancing at the bag that Gladio held in his hands.

Rolling his eyes, Gladio smirked at Ignis’s teasing comment. “I may be the size of one, but it sure doesn’t make you love me any less. Especially with the gift I’ve been given by the gods.” Grinning, Gladio winked at Ignis as he leaned forward, setting their supper on Ignis’s desk and pulled his chair forward.

“Honestly Gladio, must you always be so vulgar?” Ignis asked, smiling a little with a blush settling on his cheeks. “But yes, I do quite enjoy the sheer size that you are.” Ignis told Gladio, ducking his head as the blush on his cheeks intensified.

Gladio was a bit stunned by Ignis’s confession but grinned. “I brought you supper. I knew you wouldn’t be home until late, and probably wouldn’t get the chance to get something to eat, so I brought it to you. Figured I’d eat with you, too, if you don’t mind.”

“I believe there would be a problem if I minded you eating with me, Gladio.” Ignis remarked and grabbed the bag of food, opening it. He found a large thermos and two packages of cup noodles inside the bag. Looking up at Gladio, Ignis found him smiling a little embarrassed.

“I can’t exactly cook as well as you can, so I brought cup noodles for us. I hope you don’t mind.” Gladio spoke, grinning a bit.

Ignis smiled, standing from his chair and going over to Gladio. He bent down, wrapping his arms around Gladio’s shoulders and kissed him sweetly. “You could have brought the unhealthiest food ever, and I would still be grateful that you were so thoughtful as to bring me supper.” Ignis told Gladio and kissed his forehead.

Smiling, Gladio kissed his lover back, placing his hands on the back of Ignis’s thighs and pulling him closer, wanting the man to sit in his lap. “I’m glad you would, Iggy. Just trying to return the favor. You’re always cooking the best food for us.”

Knowing what Gladio was trying to do, Ignis rolled his eyes and straddled Gladio’s lap. “I’m not quite sure if this position is exactly ideal to eat our supper, Gladio.” Ignis spoke as he rose an eyebrow in question.

“Maybe I want to have a taste of my fiancé first.” Gladio told Ignis as he leaned in, kissing and nipping at Ignis’s ivory neck. His hands moved to Ignis’s waist, squeezing it before pulling their hips close together.

Breath hitching, Ignis’s eyes flutter shut at the feeling of Gladio’s lips on his neck. Ignis moved his hands to grasp Gladio’s wrist. He really didn’t want to tell Gladio no, but his work needed to be finished. “G-Gladio, my love, I can’t right now. I’d love to let our office fantasies run free, but I have so much work I need to do right now.” Ignis told Gladio reluctantly, not wanting to make eye contact with the other. “I understand if you’re upset. I know we haven’t done anything in a while and—“Ignis was cut off with a gentle kiss to the lips, surprising him.

“Babe, it’s alright. I know you’re busy. You’re Noct’s advisor so of course you’re going to be super busy. Maybe we could do something over the weekend, yeah?” Gladio was trying to reassure his lover even though he was upset about being turned down for a second time within a week.

“Yeah, hopefully I can relax this weekend and the two of us can enjoy each other’s company.” Ignis agreed, smiling warmly and placed a soft kiss against Gladio’s lips. “Now, let’s eat our delicious supper you have provided for us, hm?” Ignis removed himself from Gladio’s lap and turned around, prepping the cup noodles.

“At least I get a great view until then.” Pleased with himself, Gladio was grinning and chuckling softly.

“Honestly, Gladio. You’re insufferable.” Ignis told him, turning back around and leaning against his desk. “Although, I could say the same about you, Mr. Behemoth.” Ignis grinned and winked at Gladio. “I’m not the only one around there that’s pleasing to the eyes.”

“You have me there, babe. But I think you’re the best looking out of the two of us.” Gladio confessed to the other, looking up at him with a warm smile.

“You couldn’t be farther from the truth, Gladio. I’m hardly the attractive one.” Ignis shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I barely have any definition to myself. Look at yourself, Gladiolus, you’re strong, handsome. Not to mention you turn heads wherever we go…” Ignis mumbled the last bit. “I have nothing but brains, and of course, you have superior knowledge, too.”

As Ignis rambled, Gladio was starting to get irritated with how little Ignis thought of himself and stood up, towering over his fiancé. “Stop it, Ignis.” He grabbed Ignis’s hands and held them up to his chest. “You are so much more than just brains. I have never met another man or woman that is so dedicated to their job, or anything in their life, that is as dedicated as you are. Nor have I met someone that is such an amazing cook like you. And trust me, that’s quite a bonus.” Gladio started, grinning as he stared into the beautiful sea green eyes. “You’re so caring about everyone, and everything. Just everything about you, Iggy, is perfect to me. I couldn’t imagine loving anyone more than I love you. Plus, you’re amazing in bed.” Gladio chuckled deeply at the last part, resting their foreheads together as he watched the blush light up across Ignis’s cheeks.

“G-Gladio… I-… I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say to that.” Ignis was baffled and flustered with Gladio’s confession.

“Just say you love me, Iggs. Because I know for a fact that I love you. So much.” Smiling, he pulled his head away and lifted Ignis’s head to look at him.

“I love you, too, Gladio. And I know I’ll never find someone as amazing as you are.” Ignis smiled gently before looking at his watch. More than two minutes had past, and their cup noodles were more than ready. “I believe our supper is ready, Gladio. Let’s eat it before it gets cold, shall we?”

“Of course. I can’t let out delicious cup noodles get cold.” Gladio kissed Ignis’s cheek before letting go of Ignis’s hands and grabbing a cup noodle for himself and handing the other one to Ignis. “Enjoy, Iggy.” Sitting back down in his chair after grabbing a fork and patted his lap for Ignis to sit across.

“I think I’ll just sit in my chair, love. I’m afraid if I sit in your lap we’ll get distracted and I won’t be home until much later than I originally planned.” Ignis spoke with a small smirk.

They ate their supper in comfortable silence, and Gladio took care of their empty cups and forks. He gave Ignis one last kiss before saying goodnight and heading home. Gladio hated to admit to himself that he was disappointed they weren’t able to have a little intimacy again, but was trying to knock sense into himself that Ignis was busy and had a very important job he needed to stay on top of. Being rejected a second time hurt a little more than the first time had, even if Gladio tried to deny it.

~*~

The third time that Gladio was turned down was the weekend after Gladio brought Ignis cup noodles to his office for supper. Gladio was really started to get tired of Ignis turning him down, and keeping his cool was starting to wear away.

“How are you constantly fucking busy Ignis? Every night you’re always staying late in your office or coming home with work only to lock yourself up in the home office. For once Ignis, I would just like to spend some gods damned time with you. Why is that so hard?” Gladio was definitely losing his cool, especially after a tiring and stressful week. He had a surprise of two dozen new soldiers he had to train to hopefully become a part of the Kingsglaive. With how the new soldiers were handling training and struggling, they had a long way to go before they were fully prepared to become glaives, and they were wearing away at Gladio’s nerves with not being able to follow simple instructions.

Ignis stood at the island in their kitchen, hands balled into fists that laid on the counter. “Gladio, I don’t have the patience or time for this. I’m sorry that I have a high demanding job. I can’t control the amount of work I’m given and the amount of time it consumes. I’m sorry that we haven’t been able to have time to the two of us. I know it’s frustrating. I hate having to turn you down so much because it hurts me, too, Gladio.” Ignis tried to be reasonable about not being able to spend time together. “I really wish I wasn’t given so much work, but this is my job as Noctis’s advisor. Both of us made an oath to him to serve and protect him for as long as all of us live. I will have failed my duty if I don’t complete my work and continue to learn. You understand this, don’t you, Gladiolus?”

Sighing, Gladio bowed his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “I do. I do understand, Iggy. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blown up at you. It was unnecessary of me to do so.” Gladio walked over to Ignis, reaching out to him, wanting to give him a hug.

“Please do not hug me, or touch me, Gladio. I’m not in the mood.” Ignis told Gladio, turning away from the hulking man and grabbing his papers. “I acknowledge your apology, Gladio, and I agree, it was highly unnecessary of you to blow up on me. I know you’ve had a hard week training the new soldiers, but that gives you no reason to blow up because we can’t have intercourse this weekend.” Ignis told Gladio, walking out of the kitchen. “I’ll be in the home office.”

Gladio stood at the island, his heart beating a mile a minute. He should have seen this coming, but yet it still hurt. Heaving a sigh, Gladio clenched his hands into fists and left the kitchen. He went to their bedroom, packed a duffle of casual clothes and a track suit. Writing a note to Ignis stating that he was spending the weekend with Iris and Clarus to give Ignis and himself space and left it on the kitchen island before leaving. It wasn’t long after Gladio had left that Ignis had come out of the home office, eyes a little red and puffy, to find the apartment empty and Gladio’s note on the kitchen island. He wouldn’t admit to anyone that a few more tears escaped his eyes as he grabbed a bottle of wine and retreated back to the home office.

Clarus and Iris were shocked to see Gladio at the front door that night. Both of them were concerned about him and guided him into the kitchen. Iris offered to make Gladio his supper, while Clarus sat at the table with Galdio. Before any talking started, Iris had brought over a beer for Gladio, suspecting that he would need it before talking about anything. Gladio was grateful for Iris’s thinking but moved it away slightly before scrubbing his face with his hands and running them through his hair, a long sigh emitting from his mouth.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on, Gladiolus? You never come over without a notice.” Clarus noted as he sat back in his chair, folding his hands on the table. “Is it Ignis?”

Leaning forward on the table, Gladio shook his head. “It’s not Ignis. It’s about both of us, but I’m the reason I’m here.” Now, Gladio grabbed the beer, opening it and taking a long chug. “We didn’t get into a fight, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“If you two didn’t fight, then what happened Gladdy?” Iris chimed in, looking over to the two after putting a seasoned steak into a pan, covering it.

Trying to tell them the whole story was hard for Gladio to do. He didn’t know how to explain it without being blunt and embarrassing himself. Biting his lips, he looked down to the table, his brows in a deep frown.

“Well, out with it, boy. I don’t have all night.” Clarus urged Gladio, a frown forming on his face.

“Alright, alright…” Gladio gave in and explained to them that Ignis kept having to turn down intimacy with him multiple times already due to his busy schedule, and with having a tiring week, Gladio had accidentally blown up and yelled at Ignis. Looking up from the table, he saw his father sitting across from him.

A deep scowl was present, and his arms were crossed over his chest as Clarus shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Gladiolus. You got upset with him over the fact that Ignis is one of the busiest men in the citadel and doesn’t have the time for you to shove your dick in his ass? Absolutely pathetic, boy.” As Clarus spoke, the volume of his voice began to rise. “Even more so that you ran away and came here. I raised you to face your damn problems and to solve them. Not fucking run. That’s what weaklings do.” Clarus rose from his chair quickly, the chair almost tipping over, and quickly left the room, disgusted with Gladio’s behavior.

After Clarus had left, Gladio was worked up. His hands were balling up into fist, and he stood just as abruptly as his father had, his chair almost tipping over. As he made his way out of the kitchen, he spoke over his shoulder to Iris, telling her to put his meal in the fridge when it was finished and he would get around to eating it later. For now, he was going to the basement of their large house and letting out all of his stress and frustrations the best way he knew how to; through training.

The weekend had slowly come to a close and Gladio returned home to the apartment with butterflies in his stomach. He knew he shouldn’t be nervous or anxious to face his lover, but couldn’t help the fact that he was. Upon entering the apartment, Gladio took notice that Ignis’s jacket and shoes where still at the front door, signaling that the man was still home. Walking through the apartment, Galdio noticed that nothing had moved. Going down the hallway, he noticed that the home office door was still shut, and heaved a sigh.

Gladio placed his duffle in their bedroom before knocking on the home office door gently. When the large man got no response, he started to panic a little and opened the door slowly, poking his head around the door. “Ignis?” Gladio called out softly, then noticed the advisor slumped over the desk, unmoving. Rushing over, Gladio went to Ignis’s side and picked him up off the desk, holding his head. “Ignis? Baby?” A large hand brushed the blonde locks from Ignis’s face and saw just how exhausted the advisor looked, with noticeable red blotches around his eyes. It hit Gladio right in the heart. Ignis was still upset with the events of the beginning of the weekend and Gladio having had left him.

Carefully, Gladio maneuvered the smaller man and picked him up, caring him to the bedroom and lying him down on the bed. Even for the weekend, Ignis was still dressed nicely and Gladio decided to take the lead and change Ignis into pajama bottoms and one of his own, oversized, cotton shirts. He pulled the sheets out from under Ignis gently and covered the man up before changing out of his own clothes and getting into something more comfortable before slipping into bed and holding Ignis close.

“I’m so sorry, Iggy.” Gladio spoke softly, pressing gentle kisses to Ignis’s face, not wanting to disturb him and wake him up. “I shouldn’t have left you. Nor should I have raised my voice at you and get angry about such a petty thing.” He brought a hand up to gently caress a cheek as he continued to place kisses on his face.

The gentle kisses were starting to wake Ignis up. He could make out a rough, but gentle voice and arms wrapped around him. Frowning a bit, his eyes fluttered open and was met with the sight of Gladio kissing his face. Immediately, Ignis tensed up and placed a hand on Gladio’s chest, pushing away from him a bit. “If you would please let go of me, it would be most appreciated.” Ignis told him firmly.

Gladio was surprised to see Ignis awake, but in all honesty, he knew he shouldn’t be. “Sorry, Iggy.” Gladio spoke, letting go of Ignis and moving away from the man. “About everything, really. It might not make a difference, but I am angry with myself for yelling at you, and taking my frustrations and stress out on you.”

Ignis had moved to the edge of the bed as Gladio made his confession, and sat still. Looking to the ground, he nodded, acknowledging Gladio’s confession. “You’re not totally accurate about your confession, Gladiolus. It makes me feel less horrible, but it doesn’t resolve the problem.” Ignis told him as he turned around on the bed. “What I’m about to say, does not make the fact that you took your emotions out on me acceptable. Things happen, Gladio. Emotions get in the way of our thinking and can cause us trouble. I don’t forgive your actions from Friday night, but I’m trying to look past them as I know you are better than a bully and an abuser.”

Gladio nodded his head and slowly moved closer to Ignis, reaching out to him and taking a hand in his own. “I am, I really am, Iggy. I swear to the gods I will never blow up on you again. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.” Gladio confessed once more, cupping Ignis’s face with his other hand. “You have my word.”

After listening closely to Gladio, Ignis let a small smile grace his lips, nodding softly. “I accept your promise, Gladio. I pray that you never break it.” Ignis told Gladio, taking his hand back only to cup Gladio’s face with both of his hands, leaning in and kissing him passionately.

The large man was very pleased, and kissed his lover back just as passionately. He pulled Ignis down so that they were both laying down in bed, and covered them up, wishing for peaceful sleep for the both of them.

~*~

A few weeks had gone by smoothly without any incident between the two. They were happier than usual and Ignis was started to become not so busy with paperwork and meetings. Ignis was able to get sparring sessions in with Gladio and Noct at night after his work was finished for the night. One night, after sparring, Gladio had decided to corner Ignis as they were in there alone, and wrapped his arms around the thin waist, kissing his shoulder up to his neck.

Ignis relaxed in Gladio’s arms, head tipping to the side for Gladio to have more access to his neck while he leaned back into Gladio. “What’s all this about, Gladio?” He asked, smiling softly. Ignis’s smile didn’t last very long after feeling Gladio press his hips into his ass and felt the unmistakable erection. “You’re not serious, are you Gladio? We’re in a locker room.” Pushing away from Gladio, Ignis finished dressing back into his regular clothes. “This isn’t the place for intimacy. We aren’t sex driven teenagers, Gladio.”

“Alright, so we aren’t. So what?” Gladio was starting to get irritated with Ignis once again. He didn’t understand why Ignis kept refusing him. “The locker room is clean. I have an office that’s just as clean. It’s not like I’m asking you to get on a dirty, grimy floor, Ignis.” Gladio had spoken, gesturing to the floor, his eyebrows set in a deep frown.

Heaving a sigh, Ignis shook his head. “Gladio, even though I haven’t been as busy as I used to be, I’m still tired. It’s been a long week, especially with also picking up sparring again. Intimacy in a locker room isn’t exactly intimate. You’re thinking with your dick, and not your head.” Ignis made his way to the door of the locker room after picking up his gym bag. “There’s a few things I need to pick up from my office for the weekend. I’ll meet you at the car.” Walking out, he left a fuming Gladio in the locker room. Ignis pretended he didn’t hear a loud clang from the locker room of what he could only guess was Gladio punching the lockers in anger. He also ignored that he felt a tiny bit hurt inside. There was a time and place for everything, and a locker room definitely was neither of those things.

Eventually, Ignis had made it to his office and picked up his briefcase with the paperwork he need for the weekend as well as his work laptop. He was currently walking through the car garage and made it to their car, noticing that Gladio hadn’t made it their yet. Unlocking the car, he put his bags on the back seat and was just about to call Gladio when the front passenger door opened, Gladio slipping in and giving Ignis a small heart attack.

Ignis placed a hand over his heart and slipped into the driver’s seat. “I didn’t hear you walk up to the car. You startled me a little.” He told Gladio as he slipped the key into the ignition and started the car. Gladio only gave him a grunt, and Ignis sighed, knowing this was going to be a long drive home. 

Half way home, Gladio finally spoke. “Is there a reason why you won’t have sex with me, Ignis? Do you not love me anymore?”

“Don’t be absurd, Gladio. Of course I still love you. If I didn’t, do you think we’d be here together? Or share a bed?” Ignis asked him, his heart racing. How could Gladio think such a thing? “As for intimacy, Gladio, there’s a time and place for everything. I’d more than appreciate it if you would ask me if I’m interested rather than throwing yourself on me. I’m certain it’d solve some of our frustrations and save us from arguing.”

Gladio huffed a little and uncrossed his arms that had been over his chest for most of the car ride home. “Why is it that if I want to do anything with you anymore I have to sit down and schedule it with you? We’re fucking engage, Ignis. It shouldn’t be like this. We don’t even have a date picked out because you have to be so gods damned busy!” Gladio was starting to get worked up, hating that their relationship with each other wasn’t much of one if they had to scheduling their free time with each other.

Letting out a shaky sigh, Ignis noticed that his grip was getting tighter on the steering wheel and tried to relax and not get worked up like Gladio was. “I’m sorry that it is like this. I wish we didn’t have to schedule time together, and that we could do things on a whim. Intimacy shouldn’t have to be planned out. I was under the impression that you understood that my duties to Noctis are highly important.”

“No, I do understand that, Iggy. I just wish you either weren’t so uptight about needing everything done at once, or that you didn’t have so much work. It’s starting to get tiring that we don’t do anything together.” Gladio confessed to Ignis as they reached the parking garage connected to the apartment complex they lived in. “You’re important to me, Ignis. I don’t want to feel like I’m losing you.”

Gladio’s words struck Ignis in the heart. He could feel tears starting to build up in his eyes and tried batting them away, not wanting Gladio to see them. “I-I’m sorry you feel that way, Gladio. I agree that our relationship isn’t as lively as it was when we were teenagers. We’re both adults now, and unfortunately, we have to act accordingly.” Ignis told Gladio, his voice wavering and throat constricting as he parked the car.

The larger man could hear the strain in Ignis’s voice and couldn’t bring himself to look at Ignis. Not when he felt a weaker connection to Ignis and knew that Ignis’s feelings toward him were unchanging. He reached out and took one of Ignis’s hands into his own, squeezing it gently. “We’ll figure something out, Iggy. We always do.” Gladio told Ignis, trying to reassure himself as well.

“Of course.” Ignis spoke, nodding his head slightly. The younger feared that they couldn’t make their relationship work, but he had to have faith. Ignis definitely didn’t want to lose Gladio just because they couldn’t make time for each other. It’d be sad if they couldn’t work it out together.

~*~

It had been a couple of weeks since their fight, and Ignis had been cooking all of Gladio’s favorite meals that Ignis had created, trying to show the large man how much he cared for him. Ignis was still trying to figure out how to make up for his lack of free time. As they were sitting at the table one night, eating their supper, Ignis asked if Gladio wanted to get lunch together, stating that he would be able to squeeze an hour lunch into his schedule. Gladio’s eyes lit up like fireworks and had quickly nodded, ecstatic that Ignis was asking to get lunch together.

The next day while Gladio was on his way to meet Ignis at the man’s office, he turned down a hallway and saw Cor and Ignis together. They weren’t walking together, though. Cor had Ignis trapped against the wall between his arms and Gladio quickly ducked back behind the corner of the hallway and peeked around. He noticed that Ignis had a bright blush on his cheeks and wasn’t making eye contact with Cor as the man caressed his cheek.

Gladio’s blood was boiling now. To think that Ignis was trying to rekindle their relationship. Gladio had felt stupid before, but this was the most stupid he has ever felt. He walked away, going back to the training rooms, waiting a few minutes before texting Ignis that he had to call off their lunch date as he had a late start to his day and fell behind in his training sessions.

When Ignis received the text from Gladio about cancelling the lunch date, Ignis was more than disappointed, but he shook his head and tried to focus on doing his work. He couldn’t believe that when Ignis was finally able to clear time for the two of them, Gladio had chosen to start late and have his training sessions become backed up. Ignis only supposed that he was getting a taste of how Gladio felt each time Ignis had to cancel their plans, and ended up only deeming it fair.

A half hour later, Ignis got a text from Noctis, asking how the lunch date was going, having heard wind of it from Gladio earlier in the day. Sighing, Ignis sent a quick reply stating that it didn’t happen because Gladio was too busy with his training sessions. Noctis had sent a frowning face to Ignis with a quick apology. Ignis hadn’t gotten to reply to it when Noctis sent a text asking if Ignis would like to get lunch with him instead, not wanting his advisor to go without eating lunch, and was happy that Ignis agreed to get lunch together after a small banter of who would pay. Noctis won having stated that it was his idea, and wanting to make up for the fact that Gladio had been an ass for cancelling the lunch date.

Ignis had most certainly enjoyed their time together on their lunch outing. His heart swelled with how proud he was of Noctis for taking initiative. It gave Ignis a confidence boost that Noctis could be a successive king. Noctis had also walked Ignis back to the man’s office, which is where they now stood. “Thank you for lunch today, Noctis. I appreciated it very much.” Ignis spoke with a smile as he held his leftovers from their lunch.

Noctis shrugged with a smile, hands in his pockets and kicking the ground a bit. “No problem, Specs. I know you’d do the same for me if I was upset.” He told his advisor before rubbing the back of his neck and making eye contact with Ignis. “Y’know, if you ever need somewhere to go, remember you’ve got a place with me. No questions asked.” Noctis spoke seriously, knowing Ignis would be taken by surprise at his confession.

Indeed Ignis was surprised, his mouth gaping open a little. Taking a few seconds, Ignis composed himself and smiled softly once more. “Thank you, Noct, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Despite Noctis’s cold-looking exterior, the young man was extremely caring and protective of his friends. “Now, I best be getting back to work. I’ll see you later tonight to brief you on the meetings, and of course to drop off supper for you.” Ignis spoke with a small grin before unlocking his office door and walking in, leaving Noctis out in the hall as he closed the door.

~*~

The weeks following Ignis’s lunch date with Noctis, his relationship with Gladio had started to go downhill at a fast rate. Ignis had no idea why it was worsening, and feared returning to their apartment some nights. He did everything he thought Gladio would like and appreciate. Including multiple back massages a week, knowing how stiff he got after training so much in a week.

Each time he touched Gladio, the man would tense under his touch, moving away a little before relaxing some and letting Ignis touch him. It was tearing Ignis apart inside, and he’d hide away in his office at night, letting some tears fall from his eyes as he tried to focus on his work. Sometimes having to give up as the paper blurred from his tears. Ignis could tell that Gladio knew he cried in his office. He sometimes saw the pained looks he’d send Ignis, then other times the looks he’d give Ignis were filled with pure anger and hurt.

Even Noctis was beginning to notice that Ignis wasn’t the same, and he wasn’t happy with that. He figured it was because of Gladio and made sure each time the behemoth and him sparred, his hits would land harder than they normally would. Which Gladio would snap sometimes, telling Noctis he needed to knock his attitude off and take it out on the actual punching bags and not him, warranted him receiving a glare from Noctis sometimes. Noctis also took Ignis out to eat once a week, trying to get answers out of the man, wanting to know what was going on. Ignis told him it was none of his concern each time, and Noctis ended up huffing a little before letting it go.

Ignis feared for their engagement as he made his way back to his and Gladio’s apartment. He was able to get enough work done for the weekend that he wouldn’t be behind the next week, and was able to leave his office early in the day. He decided that if his last resort at making Gladio happy again didn’t work, they were surely done for. Ignis just hoped that this would work. He didn’t know what he’d do without Gladio.

Walking into the apartment, Ignis toed his shoes off and lined them up against the wall on the shoe mat and hung his coat on the rack. He had butterflies in his stomach, but closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Ignis knew he could do this. A blow job wasn’t hard to do, especially if you knew what your partner liked. Slowly, he made his way into the living room, finding Gladio in his chair, reading a book. Ignis slowly walked across the living room toward the large man.

“You’re home early. Didn’t expect you to be back until late again.” Gladio spoke, not looking up from his book.

“Yes, well, I was able to complete enough work that I wouldn’t be behind on Monday.” Ignis told Gladio, thankful his voice wasn’t shaky. He kneeled in front of Gladio, sitting on his legs with them folded underneath him and placed his hands on Gladio’s knees.

“Oh. Good.” The man commented and looked over his book briefly to watch what Ignis was doing. He paid no mind to it and continued to read.

“Yes, I suppose that it is.” Ignis agreed before sitting up a little, running his hands up Gladio’s thighs, carefully watching the other man. When he got no reaction, Ignis frowned a little but pressed forward with his plans. Ignis reached for Gladio’s waistband and worked on unbuttoning and unzipping them as he cupped Gladio’s crotch, squeezing it gently.

Gladio was now at full attention and pushed Ignis away. “The hell do you think you’re doing Ignis?” Gladio spoke, his voice a roar.

The sudden roar and assault of being pushed back surprised Ignis. “I- I apologize. I thought maybe you’d like--“

“Thought I’d like a blow job from you?” Gladio had let out a bark of a laugh and stood from his chair, standing over Ignis. “You’re far from being right, Ignis. There’s a time and place for everything, isn’t there? Well guess what, Ignis? This isn’t the gods damned time for that. I don’t know if you haven’t noticed Ignis, but we haven’t been okay for fucking weeks. What made you think I’d want anything sexual from you right now?” A deep scowl was set in Gladio’s face, and it was getting more red by the moment.

Ignis stood up, but wasn’t able to meet Gladio’s gaze. What in Eos was Ignis thinking? Of course Gladio wouldn’t want him to touch him. Especially if they hadn’t so much as hug in the past few weeks. It was hard enough to get Gladio to massage his back.

“Again, I apologize for trying to do so. I’m not sure what I was thinking. I suppose I thought maybe sexual contact would help us seeing as how a lack of it has torn us apart.” Ignis told Gladio, finally being able to look at Gladio’s chest at the end of his explanation.

Gladio shook his head. “You’re a gods damned idiot Ignis. Nothing you do will fix us. We’re done. I wanted to tell you sooner, I just didn’t know how. Leave the ring and your key on the counter if you will. We can arrange a date at a later time so you can get the stuff from your office. For now I want you out of the apartment as soon as possible.” Gladio told Ignis as he walked to the door of the apartment and leaving.

Ignis stood there in the living room, his heart pounding and eyes wide. Tears welled up in his eyes as he slowly collapsed to the floor, his breathing becoming quicker. How could he let this happen to them? Ignis knew it was all his fault. He knew he was too busy for a relationship, and was surprised his relationship with Gladio had lasted for so long.

Wiping his face of the tears that made it down his face, Ignis shakily stood from the floor, trying to compose himself. He brushed his pants and slowly made his way to their bedroom, well, now Gladio’s bedroom, and grabbed his duffle. Neatly, Ignis started packing as many of his clothes he could possibly pack. Gladio couldn’t possibly keep him away for long. Ignis needed his belongings. Heading to his home office, Ignis scanned over the room, finding and packing anything important he needed into a box. Ignis put the box and his duffle next to the door of their apartment before walking into the kitchen.

Staring at the silver engagement ring, Ignis couldn’t bear to part with it. The three small diamonds set in the band, the center one slightly larger than the other two. Gladio had picked it out well. It was simple but sophisticated, and that’s what Ignis liked.

Sighing, Ignis removed it from his finger and set it on the counter. Reaching into his pocket, Ignis pulled out his key ring and removed the apartment key from it, setting the key next to the ring. Ignis debated on whether or not he wanted to leave a note for Gladio, but decided against it, knowing the man would take one glance at it and toss it in the garbage.

Ignis picked up his packed belongings and took one last look at the apartment, his heart aching as a few more tears slipped from his eyes. He opened the door and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him slowly and listening to the soft click of it shutting and locking behind him. Standing there, Ignis wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do now. He could get a hotel room for a few nights until he could figure out what his next move would be. As he walked down the hallway, Ignis remembered what Noctis had told him a few weeks ago. New tears sprung from his eyes. These ones of relief, and happy that he had Noctis.

His new destination set, Ignis pressed forward, heading to the parking garage under the apartment complex to his car. Ignis wasn’t completely positive he was fit to drive, but he had to if he wanted to get to Noctis’s place. Once Ignis reached the car, and loaded his things into the car, Ignis sat in the driver’s seat. The car smelt like a mix of his own cologne and Gladio’s. The familiar scent continued to rip his heart apart, and filled him with mixed feelings. He wanted to get as far away from Gladio as he possibly could for breaking his heart, but at the same time he wanted to crawl back to Gladio and beg him to let them try and fix everything.

Frustrated, Ignis hit the steering wheel and forcefully put the keys in the ignition, starting the car. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he made his way across town to Noctis’s apartment. Ignis parked his car in his reserved parking spot and grabbed his duffle from the back, slinging it across his body before grabbing the box of his papers and stepped into the elevator. Pulling out his pass card for the elevator, he swiped it and pressed the top floor button, for Noctis’s apartment.

His heart was quicken again. Ignis didn’t know how to explain to Noctis what happened, and he knew that his appearance looked awful with his red and swollen eyes, his cheeks stained with his tears. Reaching Noctis’s apartment door, he shuffle the box into one arm and knocked on the door, knowing he should probably had called first now, but the thought never crossed his mind in the past hour of events. It was a few moments until the door opened, revealing a confused, and worried, looking Noctis.

“Specs?”

Ignis tried a weak smile. “Hello, Noct. Mind if I come in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when I'll get the next chapter up. Ugh. I'll try hard to get it up before I return to school.
> 
> If you liked/loved this chapter, please leave me comments and kudos! It'll help motivate me. I swear.
> 
> Duces my friends!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis takes care of his advisor, trying to do everything that Ignis would do for him.

Ignis tried a weak smile. “Hello, Noct. Mind if I come in?”

Noctis quickly jumped into action, stepping aside to let the man in. “Yeah, of course, Ignis.” As soon as Ignis walked into the apartment, he took the box from Ignis and set out on his kitchen counter. Looking back to Ignis, his face was still full of worry. He wasn’t sure what to do and wrapped a hand around Ignis’s forearm, gently leading him to the couch. “What the hell happened? Are you alright?”

Letting the younger man lead him to the couch, Ignis smiled softly, impressed with Noctis. “I wish I could say that I am fine, but I truly am not.” Ignis started, raising his left hand and moving it towards Noctis, trying to show him the missing engagement ring. “Gladiolus apparently deems us no longer fit to be with each other.” The man’s voice was starting to waver, as he confessed to Noctis. Everything coming back to hit him full force.

Shock was written all over Noctis’s face, grabbing Ignis’s hand and looking at the missing silver band, a thumb running over the spot where the ring was supposed to be. The shock twisted into anger and stood quickly, hands clenched into fist at his sides. “That asshole! I swear, Iggy, Gladio is going to get it.”

Ignis lurched forward and took hold of Noctis, pulling him back down onto the couch. “Noct, no. Please don’t do anything. Be mad at him all you want, but it’s really my fault that we fell apart. I couldn’t set aside time for us and Gladio got tired of it.” He tried to explain to Noctis, gently squeezing Noctis’s hand that he was now holding.

A scowl was still set into Noctis’s face, and shook his head. “No. No, Ignis. This isn’t just your fault. If Gladio really loved you, it wouldn’t have matter how much or how little time he got to spend with you. He should have fucking sat down with you and asked to talk about making time to spend with each other. Not being a coward and taking the easy way out, while also breaking your heart in the process. That’s not okay, and you shouldn’t just take it.” Noctis argued with his advisor.

Sighing, Ignis tipped his head down. He knew Noctis was right but he couldn’t help but blame himself. “I should have started to try to make time for Gladio sooner than a few weeks ago. Had I done that, we might still be together.” Ignis told Noctis, his grip tightening on the Prince’s hand. Tears were once again threatening to spill from his eyes.

Noctis could see how worked up Ignis was getting and decided that it would be best to stop talking for now and pulled Ignis close. He rested a hand on Ignis’s head, and the other on his back, gently rubbing it. This is what Ignis would do for him if he was deeply upset, so he decided it’d be best if he did it for Ignis. “I’m sorry, Specs… I- I’d make everything better if I could. I hate seeing you like this. You’re my best friend, and I can’t stand to see you hurt. Especially by Gladio.” Noctis confessed to Ignis as he leaned back against the arm of the couch, pulling Ignis with him.

Once again, Noctis had shocked Ignis with his actions. Ignis wasn’t sure where Noctis had been hiding this side of himself, but he greatly appreciated Noctis being here for him, and comforting him. Letting out a breath, Ignis tried to relax as he wrapped his arms around the smaller man. “You are going to make a great king one day, Noct. Though you may not think it, I know you will. I have faith in you. You will be there for your people just as you are here for me in my hardest time.”

Looking down at the older man, Noctis smiled softly, running a hand in circles on Ignis’s back. “Thanks, Ignis. I’ll try my best.” Noctis told Ignis before letting out a long, eye watering yawn.

The yawn was contagious, and Ignis ended up yawning as well. Gods knew he was tired, too, after having his tears run free. The two stayed there on the couch and ended falling asleep on each other for a few hours. Ignis was the first to wake, and gently sat up, not wanting to wake his prince. Rising from the couch, Ignis stretched, having momentarily forgot why he was at Noctis’s apartment. When he remembered, everything came rushing back, feeling like he’d been hit by a bus. Trying to mask the pain, Ignis looked at the clock and gasped softly. It was already six in the evening. They had slept the entire afternoon away.

He looked down at Noctis and smiled softly, leaning down he placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch and covering him up. Heading to the kitchen, Ignis surveyed what food was in the refrigerator and in the pantry. There wasn’t much and Ignis made a note to himself to go out later and shop. Ignis ended up pulling chicken from the refrigerator and noodles from the pantry, deciding that chicken alfredo would be the simplest and easiest option to make for now. It didn’t take Ignis long before he got swept into the motions of cooking and getting lost, mind emptying as he focused. In no time, the chicken alfredo was ready and dished. Ignis was slightly disappointed that there wasn’t any vegetables to accompany the starches but of course there wouldn’t be any vegetables in Noctis’s apartment.

Turning around, Ignis held the plates of chicken alfredo, and was startled by the sight of Noctis sitting at the counter already and almost dropped their supper. “Gods Noct. How long have you been sitting there?” He asked, setting the plates down and pulling out silverware as he sat down across from him.

Noctis was chuckling softly at his advisor being startled by his presence. “Since you started cooking the chicken. My nose caught a whiff of you cooking and it woke me up.”

“Next time make a little noise, please. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” Ignis told Noctis, glaring at him gently. “Anyways, eat up. I’m sure you’re starving. If you want more, there’s plenty more of it.”

“I did make noise, Igs. You were just too zoned in to hear me.” Noctis picked up the fork and started shoveling the food into his mouth. “Oh, by the way, Gladio texted me while you were cooking.”

The bite Ignis had in his mouth was hard to swallow after Noct spoke about Gladio. “And…?” Ignis asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to know what the man had to say.

“He asked me if you were here with me. Told him why would I know, and that if you wanted him to know where you were, you’d tell him.” Noctis spoke, shrugging a little. “It’s partially true, though. If you wanted him to know, you’d tell him. Though I highly doubt you want him to know. He is the one that kicked you out after all, right?”

“Yes, he is the one that kicked me out. You’re also correct, Noctis. If I wanted him to know, I’d tell him, and if he really wanted to know, he could have texted me himself. We both know that he would not text me, of course.” Ignis told Noctis, smiling a little as he took a bite of chicken into his mouth.

“Right. Don’t be such a chocobo, Gladio.” Noctis spoke, grinning at Ignis.

Ignis shook his head with a small chuckle. They ate in silence for a little while longer. Ignis had plated Noctis seconds when he asked, and also took a little more for himself before they settled into comfortable silence once more.

“Thank you, Noct. I really appreciate all you’ve done for me today.”

“No problem, Specs. What are friends for, huh?” Noctis finished his plate, and took it to the sink, rinsing it off. “Need help with the dishes?”

Ignis dropped his fork on the table, and turned around, looking at Noctis dumbfounded. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Noctis?” Ignis demanded, trying to keep himself from smiling.

“Hey, just askin’. I can dry while you wash?”

“No, you don’t have to, Noctis. Go sit on the couch and watch something on the television. I’ve got this.” Ignis spoke, rising from his seat at the counter as he brought his plate and fork over to the sink and resting a hand on Noctis’s shoulder.

“Alright, if you’re sure.” Noctis spoke a little hesitantly, not really wanting to leave Ignis alone at the moment.

“Yes, I’m sure Noctis. Now go on and watch whatever crazy shows you watch. I’ll be in after I get the dishes finished.” Ignis told the younger, gently pushing him out of the kitchen. He greatly appreciated Noctis wanting to help out, but for now he wanted some time alone to process the day and try to figure out what his next moves would be.

Avoiding Gladio at the Citadel would not be possible, nor would training sessions be avoidable as they were highly necessary. He figured maybe Noctis could join their sparring sessions until Ignis felt comfortable enough to attend them alone. It’d be a little pathetic, but it’d let Ignis not be so tense around Gladio. Grabbing the dishes he dirtied, Ignis turned the hot water on in the sink and began cleaning them. He just wasn’t sure where he’d live once things settled down. Ignis knew that he couldn’t live with Noctis forever, though he was sure Noctis wouldn’t mind it. Rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand, Ignis sighed and bent over, crossing his arms on the counter and rested his head on his arms.

Trying to figure everything out was too overwhelming for Ignis, especially when he wanted to relax for once. He hadn’t expected this to happen and it was creating more stress than Ignis wanted, tears starting to break through once more, and his body shook. It felt as if his walls were crumbling faster than he could put it together.

Noctis was curious about how Ignis was doing and had been keeping an eye on him from the hallways. As soon as he noticed Ignis’s body shaking, he hurried over to the man, straightening his stance and took the dish rag from his hands, plopping it in the sink before pulling the man into a hug.

“I don’t know what to do, Noct…” Ignis told the younger as he buried his face into the crook of Noctis’s neck. “This is all too much for me to handle right now.”

“Then don’t handle it. Let it go for now and relax. You have me to lean on.” Noctis told Ignis as he started leading the man to his bedroom. “Maybe some sleep will do you good. You rarely ever get enough sleep, so I think sleeping is in order for you.”

“Noct, no, I can’t. I still have reports to go through and a thousand other things I need to do. Sleeping now would set me back too far.” Ignis protested, pulling against Noctis to stop him from leading them to the bedroom. “And I couldn’t possibly sleep in your bed. I can sleep on the couch or in the guest room.”

“Absolutely not. You’re resting you do way too much for us all, and it’s your turn to relax. Besides, I’m not leaving you alone for the rest of the night. I wouldn’t feel right if I left you alone while you hurt.” Noctis protested against Ignis, and pulled him into the bedroom, pushing the older man down onto the bed. “Now stay. If I need to pull out my royalty card, I will, and I don’t exactly want to do that.” Noctis left the bedroom and went to the living room to grab Ignis’s duffle.

Ignis sighed, any sort of protest dying on his tongue instantly. He didn’t need Noctis pulling the royalty card on him and ordering him to relax, although he kind of already was ordering him. Resting his hands in his lap, his right hand deftly playing with the soft skin of his ring finger where the engagement ring used to be. It was definitely different without the ring and Ignis didn’t like it. He felt like a piece of him was missing. Gladio had been his other half for so long that without him, it left an empty space in him. Ignis looked to the door when Noctis walked back in and stopped playing with his ring finger.

“Strip. You’re getting into your pjs.” Noctis demanded as he set the duffle on the bed, digging through it for Ignis pajamas.

“Noct, I can get them. No need to be tearing through my bag.” Ignis reached out to take the duffle from Noctis, but only got his hand slapped away.

“No. I’m taking care of you. It’s my turn. You always take care of me and I want to take care of you this time. Now strip. Or do I need to do that for you, too?” Noctis asked with a grin as he looked over to Ignis.

The man was in shock, trying to figure out what this man truly did do to his Noctis. “Alright, fine. I’ll let you take care of me. I’m not letting you cook, though. You’ll burn the building down. I’m also still trying to figure out what you did with my Noctis.” Ignis spoke to the other as he stood from the bed, stripping down to his boxer briefs. He took the pajamas from Noctis and put them on.

Noctis chuckled and placed the duffle on the floor at the foot of the bed, walking over to his dresser and pulling out his own pajamas, putting them on after shucking his clothes off, leaving them on the floor. “Your Noctis, huh? Didn’t know you owned me.” Noctis spoke with a grin, winking at Ignis.

This caused Ignis to blush and shake his head. “You know what I meant, Noct.” He told the younger man and walked over to him, picking the clothes off the floor and placing them in the hamper.

Walking over to Ignis, Noctis looked up at him and grinned. “I dunno if I do know. Though I don’t think I’d mind having you as a master, Iggy.” Noctis spoke, leaning into Ignis’s personal space.

Rolling his eyes, Ignis gently hit Noctis upside the head. “Enough of that now, Noct. I thought you were going to take care of me. Not try and flirt with me.” Ignis told the other, a light blush crossing his cheeks, praying that it wasn’t noticeable. He shouldn’t be blushing in the first place with having just ended things with Gladio. Besides, Noctis was like a brother to him.

Noctis laughed a little and shook his head. “I’m just trying to mess with you, Igs. I don’t mean anything of it.” He told the taller, ignoring the blush that was present on Ignis’s cheeks and took Ignis’s left hand into one of his, leading him over to the bed. “Lay down while I go turn off the lights and TV.”

Ignis sighed, relieved a little that Noctis was just messing with him. Of course he was. That was Noctis’s nature; always kidding around and playing games. Smiling a little, Ignis pulled back the cover of Noctis’s bed and laid down on the right side of the bed, waiting for Noctis to return. When he walked through the door, he bounded over to the bed and leapt over Ignis, falling just on the other side of him in the available space.

“So. Should we watch TV? Maybe a movie?” Noctis asked as he sat up in bed, grabbing the remote off of the nightstand.

“Whatever you wish, Noct. I’m content with what you choose.” Ignis told the younger, skootching down the bed and making himself more comfortable.

Noctis rolled his eyes a little at Ignis, and shook his head. “This is supposed to be about what you want, Iggy. Not what I want. Now tell me what you want to watch.” Noctis demanded of Ignis, looking down at him.

“Alright, fine. Put on a cooking show then. I wouldn’t mind watching that.” Ignis spoke, looking up at Noctis. Learning new recipes wouldn’t be too bad of an idea. He could even try them out while he was still living with Noctis for a little while.

“You really never stop learning, do you? But alright, if that’s what you want, we shall watch a cooking show.” Noctis spoke as he turned on the TV and finding the first cooking show that he found.

“Noct, you do realize that I could possibly make you any of the recipes that we see tonight, don’t you?” Ignis asked with a grin, knowing food was Noctis’s weakness. “So should you really talk any smack?”

Grumbling softly, Noctis skootched down the bed and rested his head on Ignis’s shoulder. “No…” Noctis replied softly. “Especially because you make good food. Except for when you make vegetables.”

“That’s what I thought.” Ignis spoke, watching Noctis get situated in bed. He kissed the top of Noctis’s head before wrapping an arm around the younger man and keeping him close. After Ignis pulled Noctis close, the younger moved as close as he could to Ignis, snuggling into him.

They were both silent as they watched _Ifrit’s Kitchen_ , enjoying the comfort of each other. Ignis was certainly enjoying finally being able to relax for once. He ran his fingers in circles on the middle of Noctis’s back. As Noctis started to relax more, he draped an arm around Ignis’s stomach after turning onto his side.

“Y’know, I missed this, Iggy. The whole relaxing at the end of the day together. Cuddled up on the couch or in bed and watching TV together.” Noctis confessed as he looked up at Ignis.

“Yes, well, that’s when we were still children, Noct.” Ignis told Noctis as he looked down at the younger for a little and leaned his head back against the pillows. “I guess I only have my work to blame for cutting out down time with you. It’s a bad excuse, and I realize that now. I apologize for being absent as your friend, Noctis.”

Noctis sat up, looking down at Ignis with a small frown. “It’s not a bad excuse, Ignis. We grew up, and with that comes more responsibility. You’re just doing what you have to do to make sure I succeed as a king. I wouldn’t want anyone else as my advisor and my best friend. No one is as smart as you are, Ignis. And no one can cook as well as you can, either.” Noctis told Ignis, sticking his tongue out at the other before laying back down next to Ignis. He resumed his position, curling up into the older and draping his arm across Ignis’s stomach.

Ignis chuckled softly and ran a hand through Noctis’s hair. “Sometimes I think you only keep me around because of my cooking skills and because I do most of your work for you.”

“Hey! That’s so not true, and you know that, too.” Noctis frowned grumpily up at Ignis with a small glare. “Maybe partially but you’re more than just a good cook and advisor.” Noctis told Ignis just as a delicious looking meal came on the TV. “Oh Ignis! Look at that! That looks delicious! It’d be better if there weren’t any veggies though.”

The elder of the two rolled his eyes, because of course Noctis would get distracted by food, and of course he wouldn’t want it with vegetables. The recipe was of a roast beef stir fry, and Ignis pointed out to Noctis that if there weren’t any vegetables, it wouldn’t be exactly stir fry anymore. Noctis had shrugged at that and begged Ignis to make it for them sometime. It barely took any begging for Ignis to give into Noctis, and told him he’d make it for them sometime in the next week.

Noctis was the first to fall asleep of the two, and Ignis stayed awake for a little while longer as he continued to watch _Ifrit’s Kitchen_. As soon as Ignis’s eyes started to dry out and become droopy, Ignis turned the TV off and the set the remote on the nightstand and turned off the small lamp. He rolled onto his side and wrapped both of his arms around Noctis to keep him close after taking off his glasses and setting them next to the remote. Within a few minutes, Ignis had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

On the kitchen counter, Ignis’s cell phone was totally forgotten about. It lit up with a notification, and showed that there were three missed calls, and ten unread texts. All of them being from Gladio. They ranged from being aggressive to being worried about Ignis and why he wasn’t answering his phone. Eventually, the phone stopped lighting up with the last message reading, ‘ _Sorry for trying to care and to make sure you’re alright. Night.’_

~*~

When the sun started to rise the next morning, it shown right into Ignis’s face, instantly waking him up. He wasn’t used to the bright sun waking him up, and groaned unhappily. It wasn’t until he felt something poking his thigh was Ignis finally wide awake. Ignis had a bright read blush dusting across his cheeks and tried to pretend that he didn’t feel it. He tried to reason with himself that this was perfectly normal for a young adult of Noctis’s age.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too much longer that Noctis was waking up. He sat up in bed, still half asleep and his eyes barely open. Noctis stretched above his head, yawning as he did so. He turned to Ignis and smiled sleepily. “Mornin’ Iggy.” He spoke pleasantly, and it only took a few seconds to take in Ignis’s bright red blush and gave him a confused look. “What’s got you all flustered this morning? I know I’m devilishly handsome but I figured you’d have yourself under control.”

Ignis cleared his throat and gave Noctis a light glare. “That’s not the reason I’m flustered. You’re partner decided to greet me this morning. I advise that you tell him to keep himself under control.” This time Ignis poked fun at Noctis for not keeping himself under control.

Looking down quickly, Noctis noticed that there was a tent in his pants and went bright red before looking back at Ignis. “Y-You know that can’t always be helped! You should know first hand!”

The way Noctis got flustered so quickly had Ignis chuckling at the younger. It was rare that Noctis would get so flustered. “Go take care of your problem, Noct. I’ll go get breakfast started. Then later I’d like to go shopping to get groceries, if you would join me.” Ignis spoke, watching the other crawl out of bed and making his way to the connected bathroom.

“Yeah, sure. I’d be game to go with you.” Noctis told Ignis, almost making it to the bathroom before his cell phone went off, signaling he had a text. Picking it up, Noctis noticed he had two. One from Prompto, and the other from Gladio. “Oh hey, Prompto said he’d be over in an hour. Mind holding off on breakfast until he gets here? I’m sure he’d appreciate a home cooked meal from you.”

“Of course, that’ll be no problem. I’ll be delighted to cook for him.” Ignis told Noctis as he rose from the bed, stretching above his head.

“Also, Gladio texted me sometime last night saying he left you a bunch of messages on your phone and asked me to relay that info to you.” Noctis looked over to Ignis, scowling a little and trying to see how Ignis would handle that tidbit of information. Ignis didn’t look too thrilled about it, either. “Don’t touch your phone. I’ll take a shower, you can take one in the guess bathroom. There should be shampoo and soap in there for when Prompto stays the night. After our showers, I’ll take a look at the messages and tell you what they say, because I’m damned sure you don’t feel like looking at them right now. Deal?”

“Yes, that sounds reasonable. Thank you, Noct.” Ignis told the other, looking over at him. “Enjoy your shower.” The elder threw Noctis a wink and grabbed his duffle before hastily leaving the bedroom and going down the hall to the guest bathroom.

Noctis was once again blushing, knowing just exactly what Ignis meant and stomped off to his bathroom. He turned on the shower and let it heat up to an appropriate temperature before jumping in. Ignis did the same with his shower, though his water was much hotter than Noctis’s, liking it nice and hot.

~*~

It wasn’t long before Noctis was sat at the table, holding Ignis’s phone in his hands. He was so tempted to look through it before Ignis got out of the shower, but didn’t want Ignis to get upset with him if he were do so. Then again, Ignis was taking quite a long time in the shower, and he could have the messages read before Ignis came to the kitchen. Noctis went ahead and unlocked Ignis’s phone, see that there weren’t only text messages that Gladio had sent. He had also tried calling Ignis and it drew a deep frown on Noctis’s face.

“Why the hell was he so adamant about getting ahold of Ignis?” Noctis mumbled to himself as he pressed on the texting app, pulling up Gladio’s texts to Ignis. As Noctis read through Ignis’s texts from Gladio, he got more disgusted the further he got into them. The texts almost resembled ones someone would send while intoxicated. “The fuck Gladio…”

“What happened to us sitting down together and reading through the texts?” Ignis asked, coming into the kitchen clad in a purple button up and black dress pants, his hair still damp from the shower and no gel spiking his hair, with a small smirk at seeing the younger jump in surprise.

“Jeez Ignis. Make some noise when you move around!” Noctis spoke exasperated from being startled. Once he calmed down a little, he replied to Ignis. “I decided that going through them before you got out here would be a good idea. So in case something hurtful came up, I could protect you from it.” He was grinning as he spoke, looking up at the sandy blonde haired man. “And why don’t you wear something more… normal for a Sunday. It’s the weekend, Iggy. Be lazy for once. You just had your heart broken. You have the right to look like a slob.”

Rolling his eyes at Noctis, Ignis sat down across from the other. “What do the texts say, Noctis.” Even though Ignis was hurting, it was no excuse for him to look like a slob. Especially when he had errands to make today.

“The gist of it? Him demanding you to pick up the gods damned phone, him saying, ‘I swear to six, Ignis. If you don’t pick up your gods damned phone, I will hunt you down’. Then later he starts pleading to you, to answer him, needing to make sure you’re alright.” Noctis shook his head with a deep frown and gently dropped the phone onto the table in front of him, leaving out the text of Gladio saying he was trying to care about Ignis, and keeping the phone out of Ignis’s reach just in case he tried to reach for it. “I just don’t get it, Ignis. Why the fuck does he even care? He’s the one that ended things. Not you, right?” Noctis asked, not really letting Ignis have a chance to answer him. “To me, these sound like he’s fucking drunk and texting you.”

Ignis glared at Noctis, rising from his seat. “Language, your Highness.” He didn’t mind some cursing, but Ignis didn’t want Noctis to get into letting swear words fly from his mouth in case the words slipped from his mouth in public and caught by reporters and paparazzi, then it’d be all over the news and it could reflect badly on both of their reputations.  

“Bite me, Iggy.” Noctis told Ignis, sticking his tongue out at the other, smirking afterwards.

Ignis turned around and started rummaging through the refrigerator, and muttered to himself, “Don’t tempt me…” without really thinking. This kind of banter he was used to when Gladio and him were together, and the reply came out naturally.

“Oo kinky, Iggy.” Noctis smirked, teasing his advisor in a friendly matter after over hearing what Ignis muttered to himself.

Once again, Ignis rolled his eyes at the young man and pulled out eggs and breakfast sausage links. “Anyways, I don’t know, Noctis. Maybe there’s a side of him that still cares about me as a friend and my wellbeing? Still, I don’t know, therefore I can’t answer you.” Ignis replied to Noctis’s question finally. “Now, onto other, and better topics. When is Prompto supposed to be arriving?”

“Maybe… If he wasn’t drunk, that is.” Noctis mumbled a little as he spun Ignis’s phone on the table. “Uhh… I think he should be here soon.”

Just as Noctis finished talking, there was a knock at the door. Ignis didn’t hesitate and went to the door, opening it with a smile. “Hello, Prompto, it’s nice to see you this morning.” Ignis greeted him, stepping aside to let the young blonde in.

“Morning, Iggy!” Prompto greeted cheerfully, quickly giving the taller man a tight hug before bounding off to the kitchen.

Ignis was a little surprised by the hug but returned the hug to the young blonde and closing the door afterwards. He made his way back to the kitchen, noticing the two had already pulled out their phones and became immersed in ‘King’s Knight’. He shook his head with a smile, knowing he’d never understand what the hype was about this mobile game they played. Getting out the pans he would need, Ignis started to make the three of them breakfast, the cheerful shouts and victory cries of Noctis and Prompto becoming background noise as Ignis cooked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! I got the second chapter up! I'm back at college now, so this fic probably won't be updated as quickly as I would like. I'm still trying to decide if I want to put minor IgNoct in this fic or not. I figured a little friendly, playful flirting wouldn't hurt? I don't know. You guys let me know what you think! I would love to here some feed back from you all! Also, sorry if there were any typos. ^.^'
> 
> Next chapter, the three go out shopping together! 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed! Please leave a comment below, subscribe to the fic, and leave a Kudo!
> 
> Until next time, duces my friends!


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